&quot;When I was seven, I became part of this world with a photo, now featured on the invitation to the centennial fashion show. In that moment, I felt the adrenaline rush that fashion can provide. It was the moment I fell in love with FENDI and decided I wanted to be a part of it.&quot; Silvia Venturini Fendi reveals memories of working alongside Karl Lagerfeld, the creation of icons like the Baguette, and her bond with her mother Anna and daughter Delfina.

<a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/interviste/silvia-venturini-fendi-intervista-progetto-fendi-roma-direttrice-creativa-brand-italiano-mostra-daniel-buren" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silvia Venturini Fendi</a> is much more than a simple designer: she is the direct heir to a family vision , which she has reinterpreted with a free spirit, creative intelligence, and profound consistency. Daughter of Anna Fendi , one of the five famous sisters who transformed the Roman atelier into a symbol of international luxury, Silvia grew up immersed in the Fendi universe, breathing in art, fashion, and innovation. Having joined the company in the 1990s, she worked side by side with <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/moda/le-sfilate-piu-spettacolari-di-chanel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karl Lagerfeld</a> , contributing to the creation of a new aesthetic characterized by irony, freedom, and refinement. She is the creator of iconic accessories such as the <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/moda/fendi-baguette-hand-in-hand-libro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baguette</a> and the Spy Bag , symbols of an era and a part of the contemporary mythology of accessories. Today, she leads the maison&#39;s menswear and accessories lines, with a style that combines tradition and modernity, identity and invention, as well as overseeing the brand&#39;s design &amp; interiors division. Not to mention that after Kim Jones &#39; departure, she also took over the reins of women&#39;s ready-to-wear, bringing the spotlight to the latest women&#39;s ready-to-wear collection that celebrated the brand&#39;s 100th anniversary. She combines deep roots with a constant eye on the future, capable of leading the brand into the next 100 years of its history.

First Unisex F/W 67-68 collection Adv with Silvia Venturini Fendi as a girl.

Adele Fendi with her daughters, the Fendi sisters, 1977.

&quot;We had a very special relationship with Karl, based on mutual, sincere, and profound affection. We appreciated and respected each other.&quot;

L&#39;OFFICIEL ITALIA: Silvia, this year Fendi is celebrating an extraordinary milestone: 100 years of history. What&#39;s the first memory that comes to mind related to the family fashion house? Is there an object, a sketch, a photo, or an anecdote that you treasure as a symbol of your history with Fendi? SILVIA VENTURINI FENDI: When I was seven, I became part of this world through the photo on the invitation to the Fall/Winter 2025-26 show, in which I wore the outfit designed by Karl Lagerfeld, the same one my grandchildren wore to open the doors of the show. In that moment, I felt the adrenaline rush that fashion can provide. It was a very intense emotion, the moment I fell in love with FENDI and decided I wanted to be a part of it. LO: What have been the most iconic moments in your experience over the past 100 years of Fendi? SVF: There have been so many! Personally, I&#39;m incredibly proud to be here celebrating this anniversary. LO: If you had to choose just one fashion show or event that represents the soul of the Maison, which one would you choose and why? SVF: Looking at the latest collection, you can see there are references to various decades and moments, but what I wanted to convey were the emotions I&#39;ve always felt, starting with a very small but celebratory gesture: my grandchildren, the fifth generation who opened a door that is a link between the past and the future, dressed in the same clothes I wore. For me, it was an introduction, but otherwise it had to be a collection that spoke of the present and the future: men and women who were the quintessential FENDI.

Future Communication by Karl Lagerfeld for GNAM Exhibition Rome, 1985.

Fur Case, 1971.

LO: You&#39;re part of one of the most iconic families in Italian fashion. How did you find your own voice within such a rich history? SVF: It&#39;s an honor to have your name on the door, but it&#39;s also a responsibility, it means having to prove your worth twice over, especially now that FENDI is part of LVMH. LO: You are the daughter of one of the historic Fendi sisters, Anna, and the mother of Delfina Delettrez Fendi. What is it like to live this dual role of guardian and bridge between generations? SVF: I&#39;ve always drawn inspiration from the women in my family, especially my grandmother Adele Casagrande Fendi, my mother Anna, and her sisters. The line is thin; work often intertwines with private life, and many conversations took place and continue to take place in the living room at home. Conversely, to see my mother, I would visit her in her atelier to spend time together, and my children did the same with me. LO: What&#39;s it like working alongside your daughter Delfina now, who leads the Fendi jewelry world? Do you influence each other? SVF: I really enjoy the open dialogue we have. Delfina and my daughters in general are the most ruthless, very candid judges, and I appreciate that. We always say that Delfina is the &quot;walking archive&quot; and I am the &quot;thinking archive.&quot; Seeing pieces she&#39;s worn and reinterpreted is both enjoyable and inspiring. I feel I&#39;ve done my duty in accompanying her on this creative journey, as she&#39;s made her way into a category that wasn&#39;t widely explored by FENDI.

Fendi Pequin suitcases, 1983.

Karl Lagerfeld special decades sketches, 1970s.

«COLLABORATION WITH DIFFERENT FIGURES CAN SHIFT THE PERSPECTIVE AND CREATE SOMETHING Disruptive. The lines between fashion, art, and design are increasingly blurred. We like to BLEND THEM.

LO: What kind of professional relationship did you have with your mother Anna in your daily work? Did you inherit any of her approach to creating or managing the Maison? SVF: My mother gave me great freedom, giving me examples rather than advice. I&#39;ve always seen her as an example of dedication, perseverance, and even lightheartedness. What she asked of us daughters was to put in maximum effort in everything we did, because she knew we had to put in more effort than a man. LO: Your collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld has become legendary. What was your relationship like? SVF: We had a very special relationship, based on mutual, sincere, and profound affection. We appreciated and respected each other. I remember the enthusiasm you could feel when you were around him. As a child, I quickly realized that he was a very important person to my mother: she devoted herself only to him, and when he was home, he would come home late. LO: What were the main professional lessons you received from Karl Lagerfeld during your collaboration at Fendi? SVF: He enriched me greatly, both personally and professionally. Karl possessed an extraordinary intelligence, always looking to the future, and detested the idea of repeating himself. For him, knowing the past was necessary to write the future. What struck me was the fact that he never felt he had arrived. Despite being aware of his talent, he constantly sought to prove to himself that he could always do better. Each collection was like the first.

Fendi Baguette for Sarah Jessica Parker in "Just Like That".

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. From issue 873 of 2003.

LO: How has your personal relationship evolved over the years, beyond the creative collaboration? SVF: I was a child when we first met, and I think he always found it curious that a little girl could be so interested in atelier work. He was truly an important part of our family. When we started working together, we were in constant dialogue, asking each other&#39;s opinions on everything. LO: How did your stylistic vision fit together, and how did you handle any artistic differences? SVF: He was in Paris, I was in Rome, so he&#39;d often share his ideas with us, then, when we were together, he&#39;d check how we&#39;d implemented them. We usually had a couple of days to put everything together and make the final selections: we kept changing things up until the show began. Those who came to see us knew they&#39;d find something different, maybe a surprise. LO: What personal and professional legacy do you think Lagerfeld left not only to Fendi, but also to you as a designer and as a woman? SVF: Professionally, he was a man of extraordinary intelligence. There are times when I have to listen to myself, and I wonder what he would have done. I liked the way he always looked ahead to what he hadn&#39;t done, rather than what he had done. He taught me that you have to know how to renew yourself and give something new.

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. No. 839 of 1999.

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. No. 889 of 2004.

LO: You&#39;re the mastermind behind some of the most iconic bags of our time. How did the Baguette, which has become a symbol of an era and a cult object, come about? SVF: Something magical happened with the Baguette. I&#39;d say it&#39;s unlikely to happen again: it happens once in a lifetime. It was a special day when I designed this bag; the stars aligned. The Baguette enchants you; it&#39;s an alchemical bag, an addiction. I consider the Baguette a manifesto of individualism because it&#39;s always the same yet always different. LO: How did you feel when you saw the Baguette become a pop culture phenomenon thanks to TV series like “Sex and the City”? SVF: &quot;Sex and the City&quot; and Sarah Jessica Parker were very important to the Baguette. The phrase &quot;It&#39;s not a bag, it&#39;s a Baguette&quot; perfectly captures what this bag is, its strength, identity, and personality. LO: What role do bags have today in fashion and in the narrative of a fashion house like Fendi? SVF: All our bags complement each other in the FENDI story; each has its own unique personality. For example, with our iconic Spy, I like the idea that it&#39;s almost like a cushion, which gives you a sense of security. It&#39;s deconstructed, soft, large, and now much more minimalist. We&#39;ve enhanced its softness and lightness, while keeping a secret pocket. It&#39;s incredible how you can feel an emotional connection with bags.

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. No. 871 of 2002.

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. No. 846 of 2000.

LO: Besides the Baguette, there are styles like the Peekaboo that have carved out a significant place in the history of fashion. How does the idea for an iconic bag come about, and what are the essential elements for a bag to become &quot;timeless&quot;? SVF: There are no secrets or rules; things just happen, and they happen when you least expect them. The way we work at FENDI is very free and creative: we constantly evolve and take risks. We work freely, without looking at what others are doing. For me, creating a bag is not that different from creating a chair, or something that needs to have a function but also an aesthetic value. I&#39;m a practical person, which also makes me realistic, especially when it comes to designing accessories. LO: How important is innovation in reinterpreting historical models, and how does it balance respect for the product&#39;s original identity? SVF: FENDI is synonymous with creativity and research. It&#39;s where unique craftsmanship combines high quality with exquisite materials. We strongly believe in celebrating our traditions. At the same time, we never stop researching and innovating. LO: What&#39;s the creative process behind creating one of your bags? Where does it start and what guides it? SVF: There are no precise rules or secret recipe for the perfect bag. I start with things I find intellectually stimulating. I listen to myself; I change my mind often, because creativity is never a straight line, but if I&#39;m convinced, I keep going. For me, practicality remains fundamental.

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. No. 893 of 2005.

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. No. 892 of 2005.

LO: Over the years, Fendi has engaged in a very interesting dialogue with the world of art and design. How important is this cross-disciplinary interaction for you? SVF: At Design Miami Fendi has often pushed the boundaries of fashion, engaging with art, architecture and design. LO: What does exploring these languages mean to you, and how much do they enrich your creative approach? SVF: I find that fashion and art share the same language; design even more so because they are united by their functional use. What I&#39;ve always found interesting is this balance, which I call &quot;alchemical,&quot; between creativity and functionality. LO: We remember special projects like those unveiled at Design Miami, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, and the installations in Rome: how did the relationship between Fendi and contemporary aesthetics arise? SVF: Collaborating with different artists, designers, directors, and actors can shift perspective and create something disruptive and unexpected. The boundaries between fashion, art, and design are increasingly blurred, and we love blending them. LO: Over the years, Fendi has collaborated with designers and artists to create unique installations and objects, often inspired by Italian craftsmanship. What do you look for in these creative dialogues, and what added value do they bring to the brand? SVF: At FENDI, we&#39;re very open about the collaborations we choose, giving artists all the freedom they need to conceptualize their creations. This is the only way to create diverse projects that are inspired by FENDI while also reflecting the designer&#39;s own personality and talent.

Photo from the L'OFFICIEL archives. No. 842 of 2000.

LO: What values from the past remain fundamental for building Fendi&#39;s future? SVF: We know what FENDI is; our heritage is strong and distinct. Our goal is to innovate and maintain the FENDI vision, while preserving our unique traditions and craftsmanship, always adding a touch of fun. LO: How do you imagine the concept of luxury will evolve in the coming years, and what role will Fendi play in this change? SVF: I believe the success of luxury lies in the perfect balance between tradition and innovation. Brands with a strong yet evolving identity will thrive in the future, especially in an era where consumers already own everything and young people are very quality-conscious. The goal is to stay relevant. LO: A wish for the next 100 years of Fendi? SVF: I would like FENDI to continue to be a place where tradition and experimentation coexist, preserving our identity for the next 100 years but remaining open to change.

Backstage image

close up "Mamma Baguette"

The finale of the parade.

&quot;SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENED WITH the Baguette. I&#39;D SAY IT&#39;S QUITE EASY TO REPEAT: IT HAPPENS ONCE IN A LIFETIME. It was a special day when I DESIGNED THIS BAG; THE BAGUETTE enchants you, IT&#39;S AN ALCHEMICAL BAG, an addiction.&quot;

Silvia Venturini Fendi's Manifesto: "100 Years of the Maison, Karl Lagerfeld, and the Fam

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